Another Night at the Drive-In
by coolsville times
Summary: American Graffiti: Some guys have all the luck. [Sequel to Rut.]


_Another Night at the Drive-In_

Disclaimer: I do not own_ American Graffiti _or any of the characters.

Summary: Some guys have all the luck.

Author's Note: This is a little different from previous_ American Graffiti _fics; it's a little less angsty and a little happier, I suppose. This can be read as a follow-up to _Rut_ or as a stand-alone and it probably makes more sense if_ Rut_ is read first but it's not mandatory. I'm still a little unsure about it so I'd love feedback.

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It was strange to have a girl next to him as he cruised. He hadn't been cruising with a girl since Carol had occupied the passenger seat of his Coupe close to a week ago.

The circumstances now were much different, he was proud to say.

A date? When was the last time he'd been on one of _those_? He couldn't say to be honest. Most of the girls around town wanted him for his reputation or to make some other guy, perhaps their steady, a little jealous. He wasn't quite sure just why the thought of having John Milner as competition was threatening but apparently it was. Needless to say, second dates were even rarer than first dates for him.

It was alright, though as he didn't feel the need to fill his life, or his car, with women. He wasn't lonely, or he hadn't been until he realized how nice it was to have a warm body tucked under his arm as he sharply turned corners or sat at the drive-in, taking in a movie.

Budda was such a distraction; it was the only explanation he could think of. He'd been out of it and dragging around all week anticipating their date. He wasn't sure what to say or do, how to act, what was expected of him.

What _did_ women expect from men nowadays anyway?

She seemed happy enough just to be sitting there with his arm wrapped around her but, then again, he never was too good at reading females.

Was she content just being with him? Was he doing this_ dating thing _wrong?

...

It was all too clear to him now that this was a mistake.

He wasn't exciting or dangerous like his reputation led on, he was boring and safe and he was constantly over thinking things.

Budda sighed and shifted against him, resting her head on his shoulder and momentarily making him lose sight of his doubts.

Looking down, he saw that her attention was still on the movie but there was this lazy sort of smile on her face. She really was a very pretty girl when she wasn't in uniform. Not that she wasn't pretty at work, it was just different.

Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

"This is nice, you know?"

She was silent for a moment before letting out a 'mmm' of agreement.

Tugging her a little bit closer, he closed his eyes and said: "I mean it, I'm glad you said you'd come tonight."

She nodded against him but didn't say anything.

Her verbal restraint was getting to him and he, once again, had to wonder whether or not he was doing this right.

He wouldn't have to do this with Carol; _she_ would have told him what she was thinking. Did that mean that Budda wasn't having a good time? Was she just a quiet person or was Carol just young and loud?

Rubbing a hand over his face, he decided to take a risk.

"I really like you, you know," he told her unsurely before leaning down and kissing her.

Still no response.

Admittedly it had been a while since he'd kissed anyone but it couldn't have been _that_ bad.

"Damn it girl," he began as he caught sight of her serene face.

She was asleep. He'd been trying to open up to her, tell her that he liked her, wanted to see her again and she'd been asleep; she'd probably been asleep the whole time.

Mussing up his hair, he sighed and sat back to watch the rest of the movie when a cool hand wrapped around the back of his neck and brought his lips back down to hers. A groan left him as she pulled back and smiled sheepishly up at him.

"Sorry, John." She sounded embarrassed, and looked the part too with a pretty blush spread across her cheeks. "I didn't mean to conk out on you it's just that I had to work a double to get tonight off on such short notice and I guess I was a little tired." A nervous giggle accompanied her apology and she looked away with a tiny frown. "You're not mad, are you?"

An unexpected chuckle escaped him and he shook his head, giving her side a reassuring squeeze.

She didn't need to know that she had him scared out of his mind, worried that he was a dating failure. He would just keep that to himself.

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_Please review._


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